Stouffville Review, December 2022

STOUFFVILLEREVIEW.COM DECEMBER 2022
York Catholic EQAO results
higher than provincial averages
COMMUNITY
7 STOUFFVILLE REVIEW
York Catholic District School Board
(YCDSB) students outscored their provincial
peers in all areas of Education Quality
and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing,
which reveals the pandemic had a more
significant impact on math than on literacy
achievement among students across Ontario.
“We are very proud of our students and
staff for the high level of achievement they
consistently demonstrate throughout the
school year,” says director of education Domenic
Scuglia. “We are pleased that students
at York Catholic performed well on the
assessments, yet we know that there is more
work to be done, especially in mathematics.”
Here are Grade 3 results by subject, followed
by board average and then provincial
average: reading (82 per cent vs. 73 per
cent), writing (78 per cent vs. 65 per cent)
and math (68 per cent vs. 59 per cent). Here
are Grade 6 results: reading (91 per cent vs.
85 per cent), writing (93 per cent vs. 84 per
cent) and math (55 per cent vs. 47 per cent).
The board average in Grade 9 math was
60 per cent, while the provincial average
was 52 per cent.
“EQAO scores provide one aspect
of the overall assessment of our students
that assists us in developing our Board and
school improvement plans,” says Elizabeth
Crowe, chair of the board of trustees.
The 2021–2022 assessments marked
a return to EQAO’s large-scale provincial
assessment administration after a pause for
the prior two years. The results provide important
data on student learning through the
COVID-19 pandemic. More than 600,000
students completed EQAO assessments at
the elementary and secondary levels in the
English- and French-language school systems.
In keeping with government direction,
students learning in person and students
learning remotely who wrote in person
participated in the assessments. In 2022, 97
per cent of YCDSB Grade 3 students and 93
per cent of Grade 6 students participated in
the EQAO assessments, while 94 per cent of
Grade 9 students completed the math assessment.
Due to several contextual differences,
the 2021-2022 EQAO assessments serve as
a new baseline for student achievement in
the province of Ontario. As a result of those
differences, there’s no meaningful comparison
of student achievement to previous administrations
of the provincial assessments,
the YCDSB reports.
YCDSB students also outpaced their
provincial peers in the Grade 10 Ontario
Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT),
earning a board average of 87 per cent
compared to the provincial average of 82
per cent. Ninety-five per cent of students
eligible to take the test for the first time
participated. Successful completion of the
literacy test is one of 32 requirements students
must meet to graduate.
More information about the 2022
EQAO and OSSLT results, including individual
school results, are available on the
EQAO website at https://www.eqao.com/
results/.
Creating personalized
gifts this season
December is a month of reflection and
celebration.
We pause to reflect on the completion
of another year, and celebrate both the year
that has passed and another which is about
to begin.
Celebrations abound, and the Library
and Latcham Art Centre have programs that
will inspire participants to create a personalized
gift for family or friends.
On Dec. 6 and Dec. 12, the library will
be offering two Cricut Creations: Holiday
Gift Tags classes.
In each class, participants will get ready
for the holidays by learning how to make
custom gift tags on the Cricut. Supplies will
be provided to make five holiday gift tags.
Registration can be done via WS Play
online using barcode 24944 for the Dec. 6
class and 24945 for the Dec. 12 class.
Latcham Art Centre is hosting a
sculpture/installation workshop on Dec. 14
for adults aged 18-plus. In this three-hour
workshop, participants will create one piece
of artwork using mixed media to create their
own unique sculpture/installation. Register
at latchamartcentre.ca/programs.
Finally, Latcham Art Centre will be
hosting Winter Break Art Camp for artists
aged 5-11. Participants of this art camp can
select which days they would like to attend.
Each day features new projects using different
materials, styles, and techniques.
Register at latchamartcentre.ca/programs.
Visit townofws.ca for more details or to
register for the various town programs.